Friday, October 17, 2008

COUNTY'S APPEAL OF POT LAW REJECTED

State High Court Won't Hear Case

The California Supreme Court yesterday declined to consider thelatest appeal from San Diego County in its years-long effort toresist state medical marijuana laws.

"This is a resounding victory for seriously ill Californians and forCalifornia voters," said Adam Wolf of the American Civil LibertiesUnion, which is co-defending the case along with the state AttorneyGeneral's Office and the advocacy group Americans for Safe Access.

"It's an affirmation of the legitimacy of state medical marijuana laws."

Even before the court's decision, the county Board of Supervisorsdirected its lawyers to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, SeniorDeputy County Counsel Thomas Bunton said.

"We always believed our best chance to prevail in this case was atthe U.S. Supreme Court," he said.

In 2006, the county sued rather than implement the state law thatrequires counties to issue medical marijuana ID cards. A majority ofsupervisors said they could not embrace a state law they considered aviolation of federal law.

San Bernardino and Merced counties originally joined the suit,although Merced County supervisors later reversed course and voted tobegin issuing the cards.

Marijuana remains illegal under federal drug statutes despite laws inat least 11 states permitting qualified patients to use it as a pain reliever.

The county's suit was rejected in Superior Court in 2006. The countyappealed and lost, then appealed again to the state high court.

Sick and dying patients, who were awarded the right to use and growmarijuana by California voters in 1996, say the cards help policedecide who is using marijuana legally and who might be abusing the drug.

"Right now patients are being persecuted by police," said Rudy Reyes,a medical marijuana patient badly burned in the 2003 Cedar fire. "IfI have a card, the cops know automatically what to do and how to behave."

The county has 90 days to file its petition with the nation's highcourt. If the court declines to hear the case, the county wouldlikely be notified sometime next spring. If it is accepted, a rulingprobably would not be issued until 2010.